


We Could Be Beautiful

by elrondjolras



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-24
Updated: 2016-05-24
Packaged: 2018-06-10 09:30:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6950749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elrondjolras/pseuds/elrondjolras
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin's shocked when his long-time crush finally asks him out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Could Be Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> Title from " [Beautiful](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAmmc7VFiZY) " from Heathers the Musical. Also thanks to everyone in Bradaddy and Colon™ for the inspiration behind a bunch of this. Y'all know who you are.

Arthur Pendragon was the definition of popular.  His father was the chair of parent council and primary sponsor of the school’s soccer team - which Arthur was captain of, naturally. His broad shoulders, tousled golden hair, and wide smile unfailingly had all the girls - and a good number of the boys swooning after him, and his position on soccer team brought him no shortage of admirers - regardless of whether said admirers came to ogle his skill on the field or his ass in those shorts.

And Merlin was completely smitten with him. Not that he thought he ever stood a chance, of course. Or would ever say anything. He did value what little dignity he had, after all.

Merlin was the polar opposite of Arthur in every way that mattered. He had a slight build, a head full of dark hair that was always out of place, and limbs that never seemed to do what they were told, often resulting in him tripping over anything and everything. Which is how he ended up sprawled on the hallway floor in between classes, frantically trying to gather his papers into his bag.

* * *

It wasn’t even Merlin’s fault this time; not really, anyway. He had just received his script for the school’s annual play - an original one this year - and, being as impatient as he was, was attempting to read it as he maneuvered the halls. However, he had gotten a little too into one of his lines and in a moment of passion, had thrust his arm out dramatically, trying to get a feel for the character’s emotion in the scene, and unfortunately for him, his arm caught one Valiant Knight straight in the face.

Merlin had immediately tried to apologize, of course, but Valiant wasn’t having it, and retaliated by giving Merlin a hard shove to the ground, muttering something about “useless drama nerds” under his breath. Thankfully, the bell rang just then, and while Merlin knew he would be late for class, the hallway was clearing up as the students moved into their respective classrooms. He had managed to pick up about half of his papers when he heard a thud and glanced up in shock to see Valiant on the floor next to him with Arthur Pendragon standing over them with a murderous glint in his eyes.

“Go on then,” Arthur said to Valiant, “Pick up his stuff”

“You really don’t have to” Merlin started to say, not wanting to make himself any more of a target for Valiant, but was silenced when both Arthur and Valiant gave him a _look_ , Valiant’s being much dirtier than Arthur’s which just seemed to be mildly exasperated.

“You heard me,” Arthur said, turning his attention back to Valiant, “Pick up his stuff or I break your nose.” Arthur punctuated this by delivering a light kick to Valiant’s leg. Valiant straightened up and glared at Arthur, but gathered the remainder of Merlin’s papers and roughly shoved them at Merlin, who immediately clutched them close to his chest. Valiant then stood and stalked off, nudging Arthur out of his way with his shoulder as he went. Merlin shoved the papers into his bag, stood up and looked up to Arthur, but the boy was already gone, turning the corner at the end of the hallway.

* * *

 

“And he just disappeared? He didn’t say anything to you after that?”

“Like I said, Gwen, he just left. I didn’t even know anyone saw Valiant push me.” Following the incident with Valiant and Arthur, Merlin had decided to forego class and had instead hunted down his best friend, who had a spare period at the time, to tell her of the recent events.

“Hmm.” Gwen said, looking at Merlin. Merlin shifted uncomfortably under her scrutinizing gaze.

“What?”

“Maybe,” Gwen said slowly, “Maybe Arthur isn’t as oblivious to you as you think.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, it was probably just Arthur being kind and perfect and dumb like he always is. I’m _not_ deluding myself into thinking he has any idea who I am.”

“Well at the very least he deserves a thank you, don’t you think?” Gwen said, giving Merlin a smile he most decidedly did _not_ like the look of.

“Well I was _going_ to thank him but he left. And there’s no way I’m approaching him when he’s with his friends, he’d probably just pretend he doesn’t know what I’m talking about or ignore me and then everyone would laugh and I would die and I sort of like being alive thank you very much.” Merlin finished with a flourish.

Gwen shook her head at him. “You’ve always had a flair for dramatics, Merlin. I’m sure it won’t be as bad as that. Nevertheless, if you’re so worried about talking to him in public, maybe say something to him privately? Write him a note or something, and you can slip in into his locker at the end of the day.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Merlin said, pulling out a piece of paper and pen, “I think I’ll do that”

Ten minutes and sixteen drafts later, Merlin presented his note to Gwen for approval.

_Dear Arthur,_

_I just wanted to say thank you for helping with Valiant. You didn’t have to but I’m glad you did._

_-M_

“Well aren’t you going to sign it properly?” Gwen said, puzzled.

“I’m pretty sure he’ll know it’s me. After all, it just happened this morning, so.”

“Well alright then, if you’re sure.”

“I am.” Just then the bell signaling the end of the period sounded, and Merlin jumped to his feet, stuffing the note in his bag, and giving Gwen a quick hug, he headed off to his next class, not wanting to have skipped two in one day.

The end of the day came quicker than Merlin expected, and before he knew it both his classes and his after school rehearsal for the play were over and Merlin found himself walking through the empty school hallways to Arthur’s locker. He had no trouble finding it, not because he ever watched Arthur or anything, that would be creepy, he just _knew_ , okay? Merlin pulled the note out of his bag and, with a quick glance around to ensure no one was there, slipped it into the locker, praying that when Arthur read it he would be alone.

* * *

The next morning, Merlin got to school early and waited in what he hoped was an inconspicuous way around the corner from Arthur’s locker. He heard Arthur before he saw him, coming down the hallway with some of his teammates, morning practice having just gotten over. He heard Arthur bid his friends goodbye and then continue on to his locker by himself. When Merlin risked a peek, he saw Arthur swapping his soccer bag for a textbook. Merlin’s note was nowhere in sight, and he felt his heart sink. He was sure he’d gotten the right locker. Maybe Arthur had picked it up and thrown it away? Or it had gotten stuck between Arthur’s books? Either way Merlin had wasted his time waiting for Arthur - of course there’s no way any attempt of his to talk to Arthur would have gone right.

Merlin was just about to turn away when Arthur slammed his locker door shut and a small piece of paper floated out to the ground. It was Merlin’s note, and it seemed that Merlin wasn’t the only one who noticed it, as Arthur immediately bent to pick it up. Merlin held his breath as Arthur opened the note, the crease on his forehead clearing as he read it, and his face breaking into a small smile. Merlin watched as Arthur pocketed the note and walked off in, thankfully, the opposite direction from where Merlin was watching. As soon as Arthur was out of his sight, Merlin slid down the wall till he was sitting on the floor, and took a moment to breathe.

Arthur had smiled at his note. _Arthur Pendragon_ had smiled at _Merlin’s_ note and what's more, he had kept it! This was more than Merlin could have hoped for, and smiling to himself he got up off the ground and headed off to his first class of the day, impatiently waiting for lunch when he could fill Gwen in on what he had seen.

* * *

 

“This is good Merlin, don’t you see? Now you know he doesn’t hate you or anything, you can try to talk to him in person!” Gwen exclaimed, clapping her hands together. She linked arms with him and pulled him towards their usual table in the cafeteria, two across and three down from where Arthur and his soccer mates always sat.

“It’s a nice thought Gwen, but I still don’t think I could approach him,” Merlin told her as they joined the rest of their friends at the table.

“Tell who what?” Will said, leaning over to steal a cookie from Freya, “Are you talking about Pendragon again Merlin? I keep telling you, you could do so much better than him.”

“Shut up Will, let him live,” Freya said, slapping Will’s hand away from stealing a second cookie. “I think it’s sweet how taken Merlin is with him. Even if it is a little pathetic how he doesn’t say anything.”

“Oi watch it, I’m sitting right here you know,” Merlin retorted, “And I’ll have you all know that it’s in my best self-interest to keep quiet about the whole thing. I’m not about to be made laughing stock of the school by getting publicly rejected.”

Thankfully both Will and Freya left it alone at that, and the conversation moved away from Arthur and Merlin’s hopeless crush for the rest of lunch. Merlin spent the rest of the day trying and failing to forget Arthur’s smile when he read Merlin’s note.

* * *

Rehearsal that day was tiring. The first ones always were, when no one really knew their lines and changes were being made every 5 minutes. Merlin was under a lot of pressure, having the lead role this year, and by the time rehearsal had finished, he was exhausted and had all but forgotten about Arthur completely, which is why he had the shock of his life when he saw none other than Arthur Pendragon leaning against his locker, hands in his pockets and head tilted to the side, giving Merlin a perfect view of his perfect jawline. Merlin must have made some sort of noise because Arthur turned his head and stood up straight, looking directly at Merlin.

Merlin walked over to his locker on shaking legs he hoped Arthur didn’t notice, and internally high-fived himself when his voice didn’t waver as he said, “Hello… is there something I can do for you?”

Arthur cocked his head, smirked and replied, “I think the real question is, is there something I can do for _you,_ Merlin.”

“Wh-what?” Merlin stammered.

Arthur frowned. “Wait no that didn’t come out right, I meant-”

“You know my _name?_ ”

At that Arthur paused. “Yes of course I do. Anyway, back to what I was saying, is that a yes?”

“I… I’m not sure I understand what you asked me,” Merlin replied, blushing. His first conversation with Arthur and he couldn’t even keep up with it. Great. Surprisingly, though, Arthur looked just as flustered as he did - the calm and collected look he had a minute ago had all but disappeared.

“Shit,” he heard Arthur mutter under his breath, then shake his head and stare back at Merlin again. “This isn’t as easy as it looks, you know, contrary to popular belief I don’t have _that_ much practice with this.”

“With what?” Merlin asked, more puzzled than ever.

“With asking people out, of course!”

“Wait, _what?_ ” Merlin was sure he hadn’t heard right, but Arthur had turned a _very_ pretty shade of pink and replied, “Oh god, I fucked up again, okay let me re-start. Hello Merlin, I received your note this morning, and yes, I know it was you, and I was wondering, would you like to maybe go out for pizza tomorrow after school?” Arthur smiled triumphantly at having delivered his message successfully, and quirked an expectant eyebrow at Merlin, who still couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.

“You’re… asking me out? Me?”

“Yes, I thought I made that quite clear… the second time around anyway.”

“Like… me? On a date? With you?”

“...Yes”

“Are you sure?”

“Quite. Is that a yes then?”

“YES! I mean - yes, yes it’s a yes”

“Fine then. See you tomorrow.” And with that, Arthur turned on his heel and swiftly walked away, leaving Merlin staring after him, mouth agape and slightly in shock. Arthur Pendragon had just asked him out. And he had just said yes.

* * *

“What if he changes his mind? What if he didn’t mean it, Gwen I would die if he changes his mind!” Merlin had rushed home after his conversation with Arthur, thrown himself on his bed, and immediately called Gwen, who, upon being filled in had screamed into the phone so loud Merlin was sure he had gone deaf in the ear.

“Merlin! I don’t know why you’re being so difficult about this! It’s more than you could have hoped for! Stop thinking so hard about it and enjoy your date tomorrow, will you?” Gwen laughed. Merlin took a deep breath. Gwen was right, as she tended to be. For some inane reason Arthur Pendragon had decided to not just give him the time of day, but to ask him, Merlin, on a _date_. And as Merlin was quite sure that it would be the first and only date with Arthur he would ever go on, he was determined to make it the best one he could.

* * *

 

The next day at lunch, Merlin tried to keep his gaze away from Arthur’s table as best he could - he didn’t want to seem too desperate and have Arthur change his mind, after all. That lasted all of five minutes when Will nudged him sharply with his elbow and whispered “Why is Arthur Pendragon coming over here then?” Merlin jerked his head up and just as Will said, Arthur was heading straight for their table.

“Merlin, can I talk to you for a minute,” Arthur said when he had reached them, looking decidedly uncomfortable as all heads at their table turned to stare at him. Merlin quickly clambered out of his seat and led Arthur a little way off so they could talk without inquisitive ears listening in.

“Hi,” Merlin said, “Is everything alright? Are we still… you know… on for tonight?”

Arthur ran a hand through his hair. “See about that,” he started, and Merlin felt a weight settle in his stomach. Of course Arthur was going to cancel, he thought. Of course he finally realized what a mistake he was making in taking Merlin out, and he was trying to let him down as quietly as possible. Or, well, as quietly as Arthur probably knew how, Merlin thought bitterly - in front of the entire cafeteria, that is. Merlin was so focused on his musings that he missed the end of what Arthur had said and was only broken out of his reverie by Arthur waving his hand in front of Merlin’s face

“Did you get any of what I just said?” Arthur asked, brows drawn together.

“Sorry, must have zoned out. Mind repeating?” Merlin asked, dreading what Arthur was going to say.

“I was just saying, Coach moved practice to after school tonight, and we might be out for a few hours, so would you mind terribly if we moved the date till a bit later tonight? Maybe around 7 if that’s alright with you?”

“Wait, so you’re not cancelling it?” Merlin asked.

“No, why would I do that? Tonight good for you then?”

“Yeah,” Merlin replied, feeling like he could breathe again, “Yeah tonight’s perfect.” He nodded at Arthur and turned to go back to where he knew Will and Freya would be staring at him, but Arthur grabbed his wrist and his heart skipped a beat as Arthur said “Wait - I’ll give you my number so you can text me your address.” And Arthur let go of his wrist to reach into his bag and pull out a scrap of paper on which he scribbled his number and folded the paper into Merlin’s hands. “I’ll see you tonight then.” He said, and walked back to his table, leaving Merlin watching after him, clutching the scrap with Arthur’s number to his chest.

* * *

 

When he got home after rehearsal that night, Merlin skipped into his room and typed Arthur’s number into his phone and wrote out a text with his address, hitting send before realizing that like the idiot he was, he forgot to put his name. So he wrote out another one saying _This is Merlin btw. :)_ and sent that too. And then immediately began questioning whether the smiley face was too familiar and if he shouldn’t have included it when his phone chirped to signal an incoming text. It was from Arthur, and it simply read, _great, see you soon ;)_ , and as soon as Merlin read it the knot in his chest unraveled and he let himself smile.

He was still grinning when he went downstairs to let his mother know he would be going out with a friend, but Hunith being Hunith, she immediately caught on that Merlin wasn’t telling her everything. “You’re going on a date, aren’t you?” She asked, giving him a knowing look, “Is it that boy you’ve been mooning over for lord knows how long? Did he finally get some sense knocked into him and ask you out then?”

“ _Mum!_ ” Merlin replied, feeling his face grow hot, “It’s not a date… okay well maybe it is but it’s probably just going to be this one time, okay!”

“Whatever you say, dear” his mother laughed, throwing her hands up in surrender. “Now off with you, go get ready for your boy!” Her laughter followed him up the stairs as he ran up to his room, in equal parts embarrassed and pleased that she was so supportive.

* * *

 

At exactly seven o’clock the front doorbell rang, and Merlin dashed down the stairs, wanting to get to the door before his mother got her hands on Arthur. He threw open the door, and if he was a little out of breath it was because of his run to the door, definitely not because of the picture Arthur painted, standing on his doorstep in dark jeans and a tight shirt that did absolutely nothing to hide his muscles.

“Hi,” Merlin said.

“Hi,” Arthur replied, “Shall we go?”

“Absolutely!” Merlin stepped out and was reaching for the door when his mother came running out of the kitchen, apron tied around her waist and camera in her hands.

“Boys wait!” She called, reaching the door and holding up the camera, “Come on now, let me see a big smile!”

Merlin hid his face in his hands, mortified, “ _Mum, stop it!_ ” he whined, turning to apologize to Arthur and suggesting they leave _right now_ , but Arthur simply threw an arm around Merlin’s shoulders, smiled at Hunith, and nudged Merlin until he lowered his hands and quirked his lips up in what he hoped wasn’t too much of a grimace.

“Perfect!” Hunith exclaimed, snapping several pictures, “Okay now, you boys have fun!” she said, throwing them a wink as she stepped back into the house and closed the door behind her.

“I like her,” Arthur chuckled as he led Merlin to his car, his arm still around Merlin’s shoulders.

“She’s embarrassing!” Merlin retorted, getting into the passenger seat while Arthur climbed in the driver’s side and started the engine.

“I don’t mind,” Arthur said, “I mean, I don’t really have anyone to take first date pictures of me or see me off at the door, so… it’s nice I guess.”

Merlin looked at Arthur, took in the slight downward tilt of his mouth or the way he set his jaw as if steeling himself, and Merlin suddenly remembered that of course, Arthur’s father must be at work most of the time, and it was true - he had no mother to be embarrassed about in the first place. Merlin’s heart went out to the boy next to him, and he tentatively gave Arthur’s shoulder a squeeze. Arthur’s lips quirked up a bit and they spent the rest of the ride to the pizza place in a comfortable silence.

* * *

 

They were settled opposite each other in a tiny booth at the back of the small, lowkey restaurant that Arthur had chosen, and had both given their orders to the waitress, who had cooed at them and pinched Merlin’s cheek, solemnly informing Arthur that his boy was a right cutie pie, and that Arthur better take real good care of him - to which Arthur responded with a cheeky “Yes Ma’am!”.

They talked about everything and nothing, from their favourite movies to their least favourite teachers and classes, and over the course of the evening, Merlin learned that Arthur was so much more than the pretty face he had known him as before - Arthur was funny and passionate and insecure and so utterly _human_ that Merlin found himself interrupting Arthur in the middle of a rant about the benefits of apple crumble vs apple pie by blurting out “I really like you, you know.”

Arthur immediately froze, his hands in still mid gesture, and Merlin thought he’d gone and ruined it all when Arthur’s face split into the biggest smile he’d ever seen and Arthur leaned forward, took Merlin’s hand and said “Well that’s good, cause I really like you too.”

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you about that actually,” Merlin said, unable to stop himself, “Why me? I mean, you’re Arthur Pendragon. You’re the most popular boy in school and you could have anyone you wanted, so. Why me?”

Arthur studied Merlin’s face long and hard. He took a deep breath in, let it out in a whoosh and said, “Because I liked you. You… seemed surprised when I asked you out. And not just because I got flustered and fucked up. You were surprised that I knew your name. But I did. I do know who you are, Merlin, and I’m sorry if I seemed aloof to the point where it looked like I thought myself above talking to you, but I promise that’s not the case at all! I… I’m used to keeping an image, it’s always been that way, but it doesn’t mean I don’t notice you, or don’t care about you. When I saw Valiant push you, well, that was sort of my breaking point, I guess. And when I got your note, well, it made me realize that while I thought it was brave of me to help you that day, it wasn’t nearly as brave as you taking the first step to talk to me. And, well, I couldn’t let you have the upper hand on that, so here we are,” Arthur finished with a smirk, leaning back and eyeing Merlin as he took it all in.

There were many things Merlin could have said to that but, being Merlin, he settled for “You’re right, you know. I think I was the braver of the two of us.” He laughed at Arthur’s enraged sputtering and nudged Arthur’s foot under the table, grinning when Arthur nudged right back and kept his foot there, leaning against Merlin’s.

* * *

 

The drive back to Merlin’s house was spent in more idle chatter, with Merlin holding Arthur’s right hand as he drove with his left. As Arthur pulled up outside Merlin’s house, Merlin turned to bid Arthur goodnight, but was surprised to see Arthur getting out of the car and moving to the passenger side, opening Merlin’s door for him, to which Merlin mumbled “I could’ve done that myself, you know,” but couldn’t hide his secretly pleased smile.

Arthur escorted Merlin to his front door, where Merlin abruptly turned to face Arthur, and was suddenly aware of how close Arthur was. The boys stared at each other for a beat, neither wanting to break the tension. It was Arthur who made the first move, leaning in to brush his lips against Merlin’s cheek, moving then to whisper in his ear, “We should do this again sometime,” before pulling back. However, he hadn’t retreated very far before Merlin had a hand behind Arthur’s neck, pulling him in to meet Merlin’s lips, at first just a brush of Arthur’s smooth lips against Merlin’s slightly chapped ones, then a firmer press as Arthur brought his hand to cup the back of Merlin’s head. Their lips fit against each other’s, and at a hesitant press of Arthur’s tongue against the seam of Merlin’s lips, Merlin opened his mouth and couldn’t help a little groan from escaping him as Arthur’s tongue pressed against his own.

They had to break for air soon, and smiling, Merlin gave Arthur one final kiss on his lips before slipping into his house and shutting the door tightly behind him. Merlin leaned back against the firm wood of his front door and touched his fingers to his lips, wondering if Arthur could tell that had been Merlin’s first kiss, when he heard a loud cheer coming from the other side of the door, and he ran to the window just in time to see Arthur throwing his fist into the air and doing a little dance back to his car.

Merlin smiled as Arthur met his eyes through the window just as he was getting into his car, and Merlin thought, as Arthur waved out to him one last time, that this could be the start of something beautiful.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on [twitter](https://twitter.com/iscarosaac) and [tumblr](https://stevieroqers.tumblr.com) if you have any questions/concerns/wanna hmu!


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